This invention relates to a feeding apparatus, and, more particularly, to a feeding apparatus which periodically feeds a metered amount of material.
The invention will be explained in conjunction with a fish feeding apparatus. Fish are generally fed only once every 24 hours, and the amount of food is desirably fairly accurately controlled. Further, it is desirable to feed the fish at approximately the same time each day.
Manual feeding of fish necessarily involves certain disadvantages. The amount of food and the time of feeding almost inevitably varies from day to day, and occasions arise when the fish are not fed at all, e.g., due to normal human forgetfulness, vacations, etc.
The invention insures the dispensing of a constant, measured amount of food at the same time each day. The food is measured and dispensed by a rotary valve, and the valve is rotated once each day by a ratchet wheel which is intermittently driven by an actuator which is reciprocated by a thermostatic bimetallic strip. When the bimetallic strip is cool, it closes an electrical circuit which includes an electrical resistor. The resistor heats the bimetallic strip and causes the strip to move to open the circuit. When the circuit is opened, the resistor and the strip cool until the strip moves back to close the circuit, and the heating process begins again. A gear train may be interposed between the ratchet wheel and the rotary valve, and the gear ratio and the resistor are selected so that the rotary valve is rotated once during the desired period, e.g., 24 hours.